The police claim that well-connected residents stand in the way of effective policing in Salt Lake has been borne out within days.

Moments after the arrest of a youth for drinking in public on Sunday, his mother, a family court judge, descended on Bidhannagar (East) police station and reportedly threatened the cops with 'dire consequences' if her son was not released.

According to a senior officer, Chitra Biswas, a resident of CG block, warned that she would get all the men in the police station suspended if her son, Ujjal, was not let off immediately. Police did not pay any heed to the threat.

On Tuesday, North 24-Parganas police superintendent Praveen Kumar had said that VIP residents of the township often exert pressure on officers to free suspects. 'They even accuse us of harassing innocent people, just because we have picked up some suspects,' Kumar had said.

Ujjal, who works in Eastern Railway's Sealdah division, was arrested on Sunday afternoon after he was found drinking with a group of friends in front of the statue of Bidhan Chandra Roy, opposite Mayukh Bhavan. They were allegedly targeting passers-by with lewd comments.

Local residents called up Bidhannagar (East) police station around 2 pm and complained against the youths.

'After receiving three calls, we sent a team of plainclothesmen,' an officer said. 'Ujjal and his friends abused our men, too. When the cops identified themselves, two of the youths fled. The rest were rounded up.'

While being arrested, the group allegedly manhandled the policemen. Those arrested with Ujjal have been identified as Anindya Biswas and Shyamal Sikdar.

'Ujjal had been arrested a number of times and prosecuted for drunken brawls. This is the first time he has been arrested for drinking in public,' the officer said.

Soon after his arrest, Ujjal called home, and his parents and wife rushed to the police station. Chitra and her husband, N.C. Biswas, a doctor, demanded that their son be released right away.

Coming out of the police station, the doctor kicked some journalists who were seeking his opinion on the arrest. He and his wife, however, denied having threatened any policeman and claimed that their son had done no wrong. 'Everyone drinks. It is not a crime,' the judge said.

Not just police. Ujjal's employers, too, have a lot of complaints against him. 'Some of his superiors have reported that Ujjal had threatened to land them in trouble using his mother's connections,' one of them added.